Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

I will never forgot the words of a visiting evangelist who made an impression on my heart as a young adult.  These words passionately spilled out from the preacher one night in week-long revival, “If you think you can no longer hear God and you can no longer see and feel His Presence in your life; guess who moved? It wasn’t God!”  A quiet hush fell over the room as the preacher paused for a minute to let God speak the hearts gathered in the room.  The Holy Spirit of God began to work on the broken hearted with crushed spirits.  Then the preacher repeated the question with different, more personal emphasis; “If you don’t feel as close to God as you used to, who moved? 

The point of the message was clear.  If you feel distant from God, you are the one who has changed position. The solution to the problem was give up your position of self and humbly repent of your sins, praying in Jesus’ name to forgive you, for this is the only way to come back into the Holy Presence of God to reconnect our relationship with Him.  God does move from where He is as the God of all He has created, the One and Only God who sent His Son to save us by dying a cruel death on a cross to remove the sins of the world. The resurrection of Jesus defeated death and darkness.  “And we shall be like Him” who believe and be given eternal life to live with Him forever! God solved it all by making a way once and for all to remove our sins and change our eternal address! –All our sins for all the world all because of God’s unchanging, relentless, powerful, unmoving love for us!  

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

The motivation for sending Jesus was God’s immense love for the entire world. God has no favorite people group or culture for God so loves the world!  All are welcome with the open arms of a loving Father who longs to be near us and live in us.

God gave his “only begotten Son” (Jesus) as a sacrifice for humanity—His gift as the way to reconcile (reconnect) our holy, intimate relationship with God.  Salvation is offered to “whoever believes,” offering eternal life instead of perishing in hell. Jesus was not sent to judge or condemn the world, but to bring salvation to the world in need of a Savior and Lord. Only Jesus, God in the flesh, could do this for us. Jesus did what we cannot do for ourselves—remove our sins—to be remembered no more!  “No one comes to the Father except through Me” says Jesus. 

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”—Jesus, John 14:6

If you are trying others ways to move closer to God other than Jesus, then you more than likely moving away from His Presence. 

These verses of Truth from God’s Word show that God is alive and actively pursuing humanity rather than waiting for humanity to become acceptable to Him.  God accepts all who come as they are. But He doesn’t leave us as we are because He has so much more to give us to help us to grow more like Him in every way!  God is more, always more!  He is more than enough to save us from our selfishness, our inclination to go our own way without Him, and more than enough to bring us back home into His Presence.  He is more than enough, more than we imagine, more than anyone else can be and do! HE is God—we are not.  We need Him and He desires to faithfully supply our need.

THIS is the heart of the Good News gospel that summarizes the message of redemption and God’s desire for reconciliation with humanity—all who believe with a desire to have and to cling to an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son. 

Come home.  He’s been looking for you, pursuing you, while waiting patiently with open arms.  But it’s our decision to come home.

Ah, the memories, there was nothing like a good Oklahoma revival; a time when we invited all our friends and family to church with us so everyone we knew could hear the good news of Jesus.  We prayed hard for souls weeks before the event. We worked hard to muster the courage to invite our acquaintances and even strangers on the streets of life!  Some of us invited neighbors we didn’t know and those we did business with weekly at local businesses.

I have learned that revival, however, is daily! The energy and power of revival comes over us as we give our lives to God as an offering daily!  Don’t reserve the Good News of Jesus for special occasions; people need Jesus now! (See Romans 12, Matthew 28:20)

David sings of God’s Presence, of the enemies who do not know God so they try to move us from God, along with the truth that it is not God who moved—it is us.

Psalm 11, The Message

^1-3 I’ve already run for dear life
    straight to the arms of God.
So why would I run away now
    when you say,

“Run to the mountains; the evil
    bows are bent, the wicked arrows
Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness
    at every heart open to God.
The bottom’s dropped out of the country;
    good people don’t have a chance”?

^4-6 But God hasn’t moved to the mountains;
    his holy address hasn’t changed.
He’s in charge, as always, his eyes
    taking everything in, his eyelids
Unblinking, examining Adam’s flesh and blood
    inside and out, not missing a thing.
He tests the good and the bad alike;
    if anyone cheats, God’s outraged.
Fail the test and you’re out,
    out in a hail of firestones,
Drinking from a canteen
    filled with hot desert wind.

⁷ God’s business is putting things right;
    he loves getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall,
    we can look him straight in the eye.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn the truth that God indeed “puts everything right” in our world with Jesus.  Jesus demonstrated the love God has for us by laying down His life for our sins.  Jesus “sets us straight” with God when we repent of our sins to Him.  “God doesn’t miss a thing” that is happening in the lives of those He loves—ALL His created humanity. 

Our response?

Believe and be saved from the bondage and yuk of sin with all the ugly side effects of our sin-sickness.  Be healed and set free!

Run to Him who receives us back with open arms of love and forgiveness because of His never-ending mercy and amazing grace.

Seek God first, ask Him daily for help to walk gratefully and humbly with God. He is faithful and just to give us all we need to grow in our intimate, holy relationship with Him. 

God has not moved.  He has not given up His authority. His love has not changed and never will. His mercies last a lifetime. His faithfulness is forever. God is able and never fails. 

God never misses a thing going on in our lives and stands ready to help us! 

To God be the glory, honor, and praise!

In Jesus Name, Yes and Amen!

And we’re singing—

We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love—
for Jesus, who died, and is now gone above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again.

Revive us again; fill each heart with Thy love.
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again.

(Revive Us Again, Author: W. P. Mackay 1863, 1867)

When we become perplexed and confused, it is usually because we have fallen for the sly and hurtful words of those not satisfied with themselves and their circumstances. People of discontent can be harsh as they criticize and judge—especially when seek what God says is good for us and will declare the glory of God!  Naysayers are hard to relate to because they refuse to hear our hearts as they seek to avoid the truth of the matter.  Our hearts break when we see this particular behavior become a habit in our loved ones who live miserable lives as they seek self first rather than God whose thoughts will always be higher and greater. 

God who created all, knows all, and is in all.  God knows our hearts, our names, and our stories. He knows exactly what we need when we need it most and supplies our every need.  God is wise and faithful to provide exactly what we need; not what we want. God’s gifts are varied according to our real need.  God gifts are given to those who are selfless servants who seek Him first before doing anything of significance in His Kingdom work.  His love flows through those who listen, see, and hear others in need with a desire to be of help.

As believers, God’s greatest gift is His Presence with us always. When God draws near to us as we draw near to Him, we find peace, joy, and encouragement.  More encouraging words of affirmation and less criticism begin to form as we draw close to others who need, telling them what we have found in God!  When we seek to be filled with His love; His love grows and freely flows through us to others!

God’s Holy Spirit living in us produces the courage trust and obey God in all the details of our lives. He refreshes us as we refresh and encourage others with His words coming from our mouths becoming a never-ending circle of building each other up as Paul writes to the church, the Body of Christ! 

“God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, MSG

God is with us, His Holy Spirit living within us, all because of Jesus’ work on the cross to remove our sins so that we may be reconciled in our relationship with God.  Others who believe, see Jesus reflected from us as God works in us to bear the fruits of His Spirit—the traits of His character.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  So, when someone says, “I see Jesus in you”; know these words as the greatest gift of affirmation to give and to receive, sincerely, without seeking to get something in return. When we see Jesus in others; tell them! Every one could use a Word of affirmation—the greatest way to show the love of God!

“Love each other as I have loved you”—Jesus new commandment was given to His disciples before laying down his life to pay for the sins of the world whom God loves.  It is the grace of God, prompted by His relentless love, coupled with Jesus’ willing obedience that held Him on the cross to finish the work of salvation for all who believe.  God’s grace wins over evil every time.  Trust God, He knows what He is doing!

David is crying out to God about those who do not affirm but blow out the hot air of wicked words from their beings who do not know God.  He wrestles with the age-old problem, “Why doesn’t God do something about the prosperity of the blowhards who cause misery to others while ignoring the needs of the poor and afflicted?” 

Psalm 10

^1-2 God, are you avoiding me?
    Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
    are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
    in their fine-tuned plots.

^3-4 The wicked are windbags,
    the swindlers have foul breath.
The wicked snub God,
    their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
    “Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”

^5-6 They care nothing for what you think;
    if you get in their way, they blow you off.
They live (they think) a charmed life:
    “We can’t go wrong. This is our lucky year!”

^7-8 They carry a mouthful of spells,
    their tongues spit venom like adders.
They hide behind ordinary people,
    then pounce on their victims.

⁹ They mark the luckless,
    then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
    they stab him in the back.

^10-11 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
    the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
He thinks God has dumped him,
    he’s sure that God is indifferent to his plight.

^12-13 Time to get up, God—get moving.
    The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God
    and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
    they’ll never come up for audit.

¹⁴ But you know all about it—
    the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
    will get lucky someday in you.
You won’t let them down:
    orphans won’t be orphans forever.

^15-16 Break the wicked right arms,
    break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
    every sign of crime.
God’s grace and order wins;
    godlessness loses.

^17-18 The victim’s faint pulse picks up;
    the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
    as you put your ear to their lips.
Orphans get parents,
    the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
    the rule of the gang lords is ended.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God’s grace wins!  As the psalm draws to a close, David expresses his full confidence that God is on His throne and has everything under His control. The Lord may not explain to us why some people seem to get away with their evil deeds, but He does assure us that He will judge sinners and ultimately defend His own people. God answers all David’s concerns as He prays and sings to God.  Isn’t that just like God?  As we pray; He answers with wisdom.

God sees the trouble (outward circumstances) and grief (inward feelings) caused by the wicked as they harass the helpless, and He will take the matter in hand. God has the final say.  Believers in Jesus can depend on the God of heaven, but the self-confident and arrogant in our world have no future with the Lord. Life without the Lord is empty and vain and leads only to death.

I choose Life, how about you?

Trust God, He knows what He’s doing!

Lord,

Thank you for the honestly of David’s concerns for they are ours at times, too. Thank you for allowing us to walk boldly to your throne for help, wisdom, and encouragement to live for you among the wicked who do not.  Help us to help each other by your Spirit living in us.  Help us to do what you require of us daily; seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you by your power enabling to be and do what you say.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I will never forget a time in grade school when one girl in my class, the leader influencer of us all, decided we all needed to not like another girl.  I didn’t understand why.  Growing up going to church with parents who were dedicated to God and lived their lives for God, and who taught me to be kind to all people cause this new situation to trouble me. It was the first time that my church world collided with my school world that included some who didn’t know God or go to church.  I thought everyone went to church, loved Jesus, and tried to do what He taught us to be and do as God’s child.  Ah, but some do not.  My life was simple faith and instruction for a simple time in the “last century” in which I lived as a fifth grader in that moment.

I had a choice to make. I could follow the leader of the mean girls who told all on the playground and in the classroom (before the Teacher arrived), that Janice had cooties and we needed a spray to make sure we didn’t get them from her; or I could follow what I had been taught from home and church about how to treat others. What I chose for a day or two was to stand back, watch, and be silent. But as the hate escalated, I saw how Janice felt when accused and mocked and I couldn’t take it any longer.  She was innocent and left alone to bear the slander.  The look in her eyes troubled my heart of conviction.

With a bit of fear, and then prayer, coupled with determination; I asked the leader who was my friend before all this happened—why.  Why are we doing this? Can you explain it to me, because I don’t get it.  What has Janice actually done to deserve making fun of her? We all dress pretty much alike, so it can’t be that. We all have to come here to learn, so it can’t be that.  We all are girls who need and want friends.  Janice needs a friend but instead we are told to hate her, so can you tell me why?  The leader could not.  I felt God’s Presence, so I asked more questions. The more I spoke; the more God gave me to say that day.  I will never forget it.  I loved all the girls in my class, especially the leader who I admired for her ability to pull us together as a group to do good things.  Why just decide one day to push another girl out?  She didn’t have answer—odd because most of the time she did!  She listened quietly and simply said, “I don’t know.”  Nothing else was said.

In the days to come, I watched as my leader friend befriended Janice!  So much so, that I thought our Teacher must have noticed and spoke to the girls privately.  Janice came to school with a big smile on her face that changed her whole countenance! I almost didn’t recognize her. I was so happy for her!  I watched and learned how a leader could change the actions of mean girls into girls with a heart of kindness with their own attitude adjustment.  A leader of influence can do that in minutes when their heart transforms.  

Maybe it was these early experiences in life that God used to lead me into teaching with a heart’s desire to make a difference in the lives of those marginalized for whatever reason.  God sees our hearts. God knows our stories.  Our Just God sees all injustice and provides a Way through it all.  That ultimate Way provided is called Jesus. Jesus took all the injustices of the world produced by our sins and nailed them to the cross.  And what does God require of us? The prophet Micah, who spoke for God, before the Messiah came to earth centuries later repeated, “Seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase extends the thought with;

  “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.” Micah 6:8, The Message                             

David’s song on the run expresses these thoughts while being pursued!

Psalm 7, The Message

 ^1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;
    the chase is wild.
If they catch me, I’m finished:
    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
    dragged into the forest and left
    unlooked for, unremembered.

^3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—
    betrayed my friends,
    ripped off my enemies—
If my hands are really that dirty,
    let them get me, walk all over me,
    leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

^6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury
    against my furious enemies.
Wake up, God. My accusers have packed
    the courtroom; it’s judgment time.
Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
    throw out the false charges against me.
I’m ready, confident in your verdict:
    “Innocent.”

^9-11 Close the book on Evil, God,
    but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
    you probe for our soft spots,
    you knock off our rough edges.
And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:
    made right, kept right.
God in solemn honor does things right,
    but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

^11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.
    God is already in action—
Sword honed on his whetstone,
    bow strung, arrow on the string,
Lethal weapons in hand,
    each arrow a flaming missile.

¹⁴ Look at that guy!
    He had sex with sin,
    he’s pregnant with evil.
Oh, look! He’s having
    the baby—a Lie-Baby!

^15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,
    digging, then concealing, his man-trap
    down that lonely stretch of road?
Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,
    legs waving in the breeze.
That’s what happens:
    mischief backfires;
    violence boomerangs.

¹⁷ I’m thanking God, who makes things right.
I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

David is “praying, singing, praising, and calling out to God on the run” from his enemies led by King Saul.  The enemy wrongly accuses and slanders David to all who will listen with words of hate coupled with the terror of pursuit with the goal to kill David. David learned early in life, being ostracized by his brothers, that life is not fair.  But he also was taught that God is just and will provide a Way through the unfairness to provide justice. While in pursuit from the Enemy, David was always in pursuit of the God he loved and trusted completely.  David looked to God who is more than enough until his problems become less.  “God is bigger than Goliath who defiles God with his words!”  This is the heart cry of David who ran after the heart of God. 

Living by faith, however, David also learns he must wait on God’s perfect timing.

Yes, David is a runner, are we? Are we running to God for dear life?

FOCUS IN:  God is just, the One and Only who gives Life eternal to all who believe. God is faithful through all generations. God is Truth, proven by His love and actions as written in His Word from Genesis to Revelation.  His Son, Jesus, God made flesh who walked among humanity on earth, was/is/and always will be the Way, Truth, and Life!

God’s love is unchanging and forever, just like God who never changes in His character of perfect love. Nothing can separate us from His love. To know love is to know God who is love.  (1 John 4)

God is merciful and full of grace.  There is nothing we have done that He will not forgive in Jesus Name. Jesus is our Hope—God’s arrangement, plan, with power demonstrated by His Love—who resurrected Jesus from death to life in victory over evil!  All done for all who believe!  Our God is amazing!  Trust Him!  He knows our story and our heart.  God provides a justice for the injustice of this world.  He provides justice for us when we repent of our sins.  It’s like this, God is just to forgive us completely “just as if we had never sinned”. We are justified fully—our sins to be remembered no more—our screensavers of life wiped clean by Him who loves and restores us to Life!

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” —Jesus, John 11:25-26

Lord,

I trust you with my whole life because You are Life to me.  Yes, I believe. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

We say we trust God. But until a mess explodes in our faces with the reaction to first try to clean it or patch it with the our own resources we have on hand, our trust is not matured or reliable.  We preach, Trust God—He knows what He is doing!  But until we are tested with our own Job-like experiences with an immediate first response of turning to God, crying out for His mercy and guidance through the temporary troubles; trust has not been internalized as a part of our being.  Trust in God, as we mentioned a couple of days ago, is like a child who runs immediately, without thinking, to his or her father as the first line of defense!  They know and trust, without a doubt, their father or mother can and will do something to save them with help and protection against their foes. They know their parents who love them dearly will provide a solution to their troubles and trials.  We also know a lesson of correction will be taught in the process.  (Maybe that was just my parents; but I doubt it!)

I do not remember a time when my parents came to my aid without a lesson to arm me with the knowledge needed to avoid the same trouble the next time with teaching me the Supreme Resource to run to when tested and tried!  This was not a lesson of independence but a lesson of dependance our Jesus, The Resource who was  tried and true, who died to save me from my sins and rose again to give me faith in all circumstance with hope for a future beyond all the trials of earth.  I am grateful for this educational knowledge from my parents who led me to the Lord, the One they knew well because their parents taught them! 

Today’s song from our playlist accompanies well the psalm sung on the “playlist” of generations past when up against walls of terror; but yet they put their faith in God—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Job, David, Joseph and Mary, just to name but a few! Imperfect people who put their trust in our Perfect, Holy, and Faithful God!

Christ is my firm foundation
The Rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaking
I’ve never been more glad
That I put my faith in Jesus
‘Cause He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
So why would He fail now?
He won’t

I’ve still got joy in chaos
I’ve got peace that makes no sense
So I won’t be going under
I’m not held by my own strength
‘Cause I build my life on Jesus
He’s never let me down
He’s faithful in еvery season
So why would He fail now?

Hе won’t, He won’t, He won’t fail

He won’t fail, He won’t.

Psalm 6, The Message

^1-2 Please, God, no more yelling,
    no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change;
    I’m so starved for affection.

^2-3 Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue,
    beaten up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take
    for you to let up?

^4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight;
    if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
    I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!

^6-7 I’m tired of all this—so tired. My bed
    has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
    My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
    nearly blind, I squint and grope.

^8-9 Get out of here, you Devil’s crew:
    at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted,
    my prayers are answered.

¹⁰ Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

David, the Psalmist, rejoiced because of God’s protection and peace. He encouraged others to trust in God. He knew, through deep struggle and grief, that God could and would sustain him.  Sorrow comes, but as believers we can place all our confidence in God because He indeed listens while restoring His joy in our hearts as He continues His work in us.  David psalms record the stages in his difficult experiences of life of moving by faith from trial to triumph.  We are given the same Resource to have and to hold onto, a faith in God for all seasons—a faith that forever builds in strength with wisdom  as God helps us.  May His Will be done.

Our response is up to each one of us:

Who do we run to first!

Who do we honestly cry out to then pause to listen to confidently with trust for help? 

I choose God—He knows what He is doing! Trust and obey, for there’s no other way…

Lord,

Thank you for this lesson of faith, trust and surrender to your will. Help us daily as you use the tests, trials and troubles to mature our faith in you—The One who is able and enough for all of us!

In Jesus Name, Amen

And we’re singing…

Rain came and wind blew
But my house was built on You
I’m safe with You
I’m gonna make it through

Yeah, I’m gonna make it through
‘Cause I’m standing strong on You

Christ is my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaken
I’ve never been more glad
That I put my faith in Jesus
‘Cause He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
So why would He fail now?

He won’t, He won’t
He won’t fail, He won’t fail, HE WON’T.  

(Official lyrics of Firm Foundation (He Won’t) by Austin Davis / Chandler Moore / Cody Carnes.)

There is a difference between those who desire God and want to grow in His character and those who live for themselves bound to their own agendas.  You are probably already thinking, well duh, we already know that about the people in the world around us and do our best to avoid them.  Okay, but think beyond the tight knit community of believers that we cling to for moment and bear with me…

Join me in my thoughts today about the “insiders” of any given church who think they have it altogether but might be missing the “main thing” about being the Body of Christ.  We are proud to call ourselves a friendly church because for years we have demonstrated our love for each other as we grow our families throughout the generations who attend church. We smile at our friends on Sunday, sing our God songs to each other, then listen to sermons about the love of God as we sit back comfortably pleased as punch because we think we have arrived at checking all the boxes of a friendly church whom God has sanctioned as holy. Afterall, we might even share a meal together afterwards!  We might even be thinking; “Oh, how we have pleased God our Father today by what we did and do at church.  Mm, hold that thought.

Randy and I visited a church in another town a few months ago. We knew a few people in the church but were not greeted by them, even when we caught their eye, for they were too busy with their new building project promotion that day.  No worries, they’re busy, we get it.  A few hundred people were roaming about, finding the way they knew to the sanctuary, slapping each other on the back with hardy greetings for each other, so we followed them. Randy and I just kept smiling but no one, not one person, greeted us or showed us the way to worship, we just followed the crowd.  Truth is we were treated as outsiders who made us feel we didn’t deserve a place in their circle. Ouch. 

Needing to use the restroom after the long drive to get to this church, we had to search for ourselves to find where the facilities were located as greeters were too busy at tables of promotion.  We tried.  Randy and I are “lifers” in the Body of Christ, we’ve seen how habits of church can actually turn visitors away who have finally made the decision, built up enough courage to get up, get dressed, and come to church to seek something (and Somone) different for their lives.  We cannot as the Body of Christ make seekers feel unwelcomed much less unacceptable and unloved. I pray for God’s church often, for this is not the first experience we have had being a visitor, though a believer, in the Body. We don’t seek recognition; we seek holy, unconditional acceptance.

I don’t know why this psalm of David triggers this response to pray today; but it does. We must prayer, as the Body, to seek God first before entering His House, for it is the Holy Spirit who prepares our hearts to seek God with all that is in us! Our prayers must extend and include asking God to open our eyes to notice those who are desperately in need, seeking a solution from God. God is the answer! We have and hold the answer! We must pray for God’s love to so completely engulf our being that His love spills out to be felt by all who enter His House! Our main goal is God and His love for us by sending His One and Only Son, Jesus to save us!  We come as a grateful and humbled people who revel in His love and embrace all who come seeking His love. God saved us through His Son who sacrificed His life for ours to pay the debt we all owed for our sins!

How can we sit still and not tell someone else about Jesus’ sacrificial love that goes beyond all human ideas and practices of love?

While Jesus walked on earth, he gathered a group from all walks of life and taught this unlikely group to be less judgmental and prejudicial of other people. He taught the words of Micah the prophet of God who wrote what God required of all believers; “Seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Jesus daily demonstrated the love of God to them—as well as to other people the disciples deemed unworthy.  (Read the gospels for proof of this truth!) As the love and serve lessons were coming to an end that night at their last meal together; Jesus leaned in to command this love of God to become a part of them, a daily habit, as worship to God. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”—Jesus, John 13:34-35

How we love others like he loves us is to genuinely love more; judge less. Paul writes in Romans 12— “don’t fake it”.  It is seeing beyond the exterior first impression of a person seeking love and belonging to extend welcoming, open arms of love and acceptance into His Kingdom through The Body of Christ.  This is loving like He loved us—without conditions. 

Psalm 5, The Message

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

^1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
    Can you make sense of these ramblings,
    my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.

^4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
    or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
    you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
    Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

^7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
    it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
    prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
    to get me safely through enemy lines.

^9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
    their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
    their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

^11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
    when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
    Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
    for decking us out in delight.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

David said it best; “You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers”!

We must respond like God, demonstrating the love of God in us so others will know His love, too!

Warren Wiersbe writes of the background of this psalm of David to help us understand the welcoming embrace of God celebrated by David; “David didn’t rejoice because some of God’s covenant people were judged evil by the Lord, but he rejoiced because Israel’s God had been glorified and God’s king was vindicated. The future of God’s great plan of salvation rested with Israel, and if the Davidic dynasty had been destroyed, what about God’s gracious messianic covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:8)? The outcome of our fellowship with the Lord should be joy in His character, His promises, and His gracious answers to prayer.”—Wiersbe Study Bible    

Truth: David was not a Levite, therefore not welcomed to worship in the Temple, but welcomed by God as His special guest to worship wherever David was!

One last thought, there was no lingering bitterness for how we were treated that day; only immediate forgiveness for their busyness with excitement for their building project.  It was God we sought and still seek first when we enter His House. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God—I do; you do. Seek forgiveness and God lovingly and faithfully forgives us in the Name of Jesus, His Son.  Only Jesus saves us—not people.

People do not keep us from going to God’s House to seek Him in prayer. People do not hold us back to praise and worship God or to love, serve, and show kindness to others seeking Him, too.  Worship of God is in our DNA as His created and forgiveness is in Him.  As His children we gather in His Name to adore and declare the glory of our Father, and we enthusiastically embrace what He is doing in and among us as the Body of Christ! This is being the church.

Oh Lord,

Thank you for stirring our hearts to be more like you in every way—but as you know we need your powerful help to transform.  Lead us with first cleansing our hearts of habits that do not become you.  Renew our minds to think more like you. Refresh and reset our souls, our very being, to behave more like you.  Continually, like a forever flowing fountain, restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work within us.  May others see you in us today and always.

In Jesus Name, Amen

When we were very young children we fully depended on our parents and other caregivers to tell us exactly what to do and when to do it. In doing so naturally, this left all decision-making and responsibility in their hands; not ours.  When we were hurt and bullied we ran to our parents to solve the issue. When we fell down, we ran to parents to fix it.  God-honoring, believing parents will soothe the pain of the hurt caused by others against us with words of comfort along with wisdom for walking with God as we walk with the bullies of this life in view.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

I am reminded of this verse as we read our next Psalm, remembering the enemies and hurts of my past who were led by the trait of evil called selfishness.  I was led by self more times than I liked for sure.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” when we think first of ourselves with our main goal of self-satisfaction.

The Apostle Paul describes the transition from spiritual immaturity to maturity with Godly wisdom. He highlights this natural progression to the Corinthian church right in the middle of the “love” chapter, as we call it today! The church at Corinth were behaving badly and very childishly.  Paul writes that in childhood, one thinks, speaks, and reasons as a child, but maturity requires leaving behind “childish things” for adult understanding. Paul does not criticize being a child, but encourages moving past immature ways of thinking (selfishness, pettiness) toward a more mature perspective.

As young children dependent on our parents for all the things of life; we turned to them for love, our basic human need.  When they gave their unconditional love; we trusted and obeyed them even more for we knew their love would guide us to all that is good for us. 

As we come to know God, our Father in Heaven, and confess our sins in Jesus Name, we become more spiritually mature in our relationship with Him, too! By the power and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit now living in our being; this relationship matures and becomes progressively more intimate when we seek God first at the beginning of each day, express our love for Him, thank Him for all He is and what He has done, while asking for His wisdom, insight and understanding for each new day.  Praying “His will be done” is the cry of our hearts and the surrender of self to His wisdom!

We learn as we mature in our faith in God that we can turn to God in times of trouble and know He is always with us.  As a result, we praise and thank Him when we see His glory at work all around us. 

THIS is David as he writes and sings praises to God consistently while his faith solidifies into a intimate relationship with God.  David comes to know the heart of God as his heart consistently runs after the heart of God.

PSALM 3, The Message

God! Look! Enemies past counting!
Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
“Hah! No help for him from God!”

^3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
With all my might I shout up to God,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.

^5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep.
Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady,
Fearless before the enemy mobs
Coming at me from all sides.

⁷ Up, God! My God, help me!
Slap their faces,
First this cheek, then the other,
Your fist hard in their teeth!

⁸ Real help comes from God.
Your blessing clothes your people!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” –Jesus, Matthew 18:2-4

Jesus is not saying become childish in our faith but to be fully become child-like in our approach, belief, and behavior with God leading us. 

The childish demand their own way, manipulate others, and bargain with God in all kinds of situations—even at church!  We all see it.  We’ve all done it.

The child-like seek the Father daily, tell Him honestly whatever is on their minds, run to God first in times of trouble, because they love Him back. The child-like know God intimately as the one who loves them consistently with an unchanging love that can be counted on forever!  A child-like faith depends on God. The child-like knows God with a hearts’ desire to grow to become like him in every way. “I want to be just like dad” is the cry of their hearts.  A child-like faith trusts without doubt or question because they mature enough to know that God, the Father can be trusted and is forever faithful.

An unspoiled child has the characteristics that make for humility: trust, dependence, a desire to make others happy, and an absence of boasting or selfish desire to be greater than others. (Like Christ is described in Philippians 2 and teaches on the Mount, Matthew 5-7!)  By nature, all of us are rebels who want to be celebrities instead of servants. We need a great deal of teaching from God’s Holy Spirit for us to learn the lessons of humility.  “Become like a child who humbly and honestly trusts the Father.”

David sings for all the world to know— “REAL help comes from God.” David didn’t have time to go through a long liturgy, for his own life was at stake as he ran from Saul, his enemy.  In fact, the future of the kingdom also hung in the balance. David knew that God is “A very present help in [times of] trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Without ignoring his problems, David lifted his eyes from the threatening situation around him and looked by faith to the Lord. He knew he was in danger, but God was his shield.  Israel’s king was referred to as a “shield” because He protected the nation (Psalm 84:9); but David depended on God as his shield Who protected him. These and other metaphors are used often to describe God by those who loved him back with all their hearts, minds, and souls.

So, what are we singing for all the world to know?  Let us pause, pray, and seek God for the answer and receive real help to be more like the Father each day we live on earth with Him.

Lord,

I’m singing the song “New Wine” to you this morning in Your Name for your glory and my good as you lead me…

… In the crushing, In the pressing
You are making New wine
In the soil, I now surrender
You are breaking New ground

… So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand

… Make me Your vessel, Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing, But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me

… In the crushing, In the pressing
You are making New wine
In the soil, I Now surrender
You are breaking New ground
You are breaking New ground

… So make me Your vessel
Make me an offering, Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing, But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me

… ‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power, There is new freedom
And the kingdom is here
I lay down my old flames, To carry Your new fire today

… ‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power, There is new freedom
And the kingdom is here, I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today

… So make me Your vessel, Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
God, I came here with nothing, But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me

(Source: LyricFind, Songwriters: Brooke Ligertwood, New Wine lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing)

In Jesus Name, Amen

Psalm 2 is a royal messianic psalm declaring that despite the futile rebellion of nations against God and His appointed King (Jesus), God has established His Son as the ultimate sovereign ruler. It calls for worldly leaders to submit to the Messiah to avoid divine judgment and instead, find God’s blessing. 

Psalm 2, The Message

^1-6 Why the big noise, nations?
Why the mean plots, peoples?
Earth-leaders push for position,
Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:
“Let’s get free of God!
Cast loose from Messiah!”
Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing.
At first he’s amused at their presumption;
Then he gets good and angry.
Furiously, he shuts them up:
“Don’t you know there’s a King in Zion? A coronation banquet
Is spread for him on the holy summit.”

^7-9 Let me tell you what God said next.
He said, “You’re my son,
And today is your birthday.
What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?
You can command them all to dance for you,
Or throw them out with tomorrow’s trash.”

^10-12 So, rebel-kings, use your heads;
Upstart-judges, learn your lesson:
Worship God in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know;
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God—you won’t regret it!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn that the One and Only Jesus is King, Sovereign over all.  Who do we bow down to in worship daily in response?  Our responsive behaviors in war and in peace will always reflect what or who we truly believe for what and who we truly believe flows from our hearts.  God sees our hearts.  We cannot hide our hearts from Him.

What or Who do we truly believe in, think about most, and spend desired time with ultimately defines our worship. Do we really believe what God says to be really real? Time will tell. Circumstance of life will tell. How we react to others who are different than us or get in our way will tell. If worship on Sundays with enthusiastic hands raised high and voices shouting the name of the Lord, but Mondays reflect a different mind and attitude reflecting a different person of response; then this will tell what who we truly believe to be really real.

“Why the big noise, nations?”  We individually make a lot of noise to prove our stand on the issues and climate of thinking of the world even when we don’t stand for much of anything at all that gives life forever. “The fool says in his heart; There is no God.”  Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 proclaims that denying God’s existence is a moral, rather than intellectual, failure rooted in a desire to escape divine accountability and live according to one’s own selfish desires.

Nations are built by individuals developing into greater groups of people.  Leaders emerge who either follow God or not.  There is no middle or neutral ground of existence with God.  We either believe and follow our Sovereign God, Creator of all, knows all and is over all or we do not believe and follow our own noses into the foolishness of our opinions without real knowledge while demanding our own way as we worm our way into everyone’s business based on human wisdom that cannot be trusted.  (Sigh, How we must break the heart of God when we do not choose Him.)

We learn then that life offers two roads to travel—the way of the righteous or the way of the wicked. God provides, protects, and nourishes the righteous who choose to walk humbly with Him. God expects pursuit over perfection. I’ve seen it with my own eyes how God is forever faithful to us!  God character of kindness and gentleness reflect his most beloved behavior of His loving forgiveness.  These are the traits that He wants to develop within us as we respond to daily to others for we are His children!

We daily choose where our focus will be. When we choose the path that leads to God, we are promised to find peace that comes with God’s faithfulness and His relentless love for us.  Remember, nothing separates us from the love of God! (Romans 8)

Choose wisely.  If you think you have chosen unwisely, there is time today to reset your life to the “default setting” of our Creator. Scriptures tell us we were created to worship our Creator! Begin with real belief. Believe in Jesus, repent to God in Jesus Name, and be saved immediately from sins that hold us back and keep us in bondage. In this act of trust and obedience; the Holy Spirit comes with power to help us daily in our walk!

Yes, God is alive and active in our world today and forever!  Trust Him, right now, don’t wait another second!  Call on the His Son, our Messiah, Jesus proclaimed in Psalm 2 centuries before Jesus came to willingly and obediently die on a cross then rise again three days later in resurrection power to prove He lives and who has the authority to give all who believe life eternal! Wow, there is no one like our God!  Only a fool would give up and trust in themselves and the world around them.  Yikes!

And we’re singing…YOU ARE MY ALL IN ALL

… You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

… Seeking You as a precious jewel, Lord to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all

… Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name

… Taking my sin my cross my shame, Rising again I bless your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down you pick me up, When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all

… Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name

(Songwriters: James Wright, You Are My All in All lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing)

Lord,

Thank you for the Psalms that give us strength, hope, clarity, and wisdom as we worship you with the written words—from our heart to yours!  To you be the glory forever!

In Jesus Name, Amen